Accolades for super-quick condom

Described as a passion filler, not a passion killer, the South African designed high-speed condom that has taken almost a decade to develop has made it to the finals of the upcoming Design Indaba’s Beautiful Objects made in South Africa contest.

The competition is intended more to celebrate local design than to enhance local sex lives, but what the curators of the prestigious talent search have lauded is the development of a condom that can be fitted in just three seconds, as opposed to the 30 to 40 seconds needed to don the government issue.

The condom is wrapped in a serrated package that is split open with the help of two thumb-sized handles inside a foil wrapper. The condom slides onto the penis and the applicator pops off the bottom.

Co-designer Roelf Mulder of the company —XYZ (pronounced ‘Dot Dot Dot XYZ”) said he was thrilled about the accolade: ‘It’s tremendous. I feel flattered and grateful that we have been nominated. The most beautiful product encompasses not only aesthetics but also the impact the condom will have socially and economically.”

The company’s description of its easy-fit applicator claims ‘the product uses innovative packaging design to help reduce the rate of infection by ensuring the user does not touch the condom — which could possibly render it infected.”

The condom was developed with research funding from the South African life insurer Metropolitan.

Mulder said this week that his company is now ready to launch a second design — a ‘deluxe model”. ‘It functions in a similar way but the application is much easier. With the first design we found it would jump out of the applicator and overstretch when applied. The latest design doesn’t do that and fits nicely.”

Mulder said the effort to develop the high-speed condom ‘was arduous but provided a simple solution”, costing in the region of R1,5-million. It is intended for a ‘sophisticated market”. Future designs, he said, may be geared towards the ‘tastefully kinky”.

Mulder said: ‘I have used it successfully, it’s a pleasure to use.”

In 2005 the company exhibited its work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the condom has already received an award from the South African Bureau of Standards.